Charge!!

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Charge!!

Studio album by The Aquabats
Released	June 7, 2005
Recorded	2005
Genre	New Wave/Punk/Ska/Rock
Length	38:32
Label	Nitro Records
Producer(s)	Cameron Webb
All Music Guide link
The Aquabats chronology
Yo, Check Out This Ride (2004)	Charge!! (2005)
Alternate cover

Special One-Year Anniversary Edition cover

Charge!! is the fifth album by The Aquabats. The album marks the band's debut on Nitro Records, and was followed by their first national tour in several years. The album is very similar in sound to the previous year's EP Yo, Check Out This Ride!. Thematically, it continues the band's satire of the music "scene," from the beginning with the song "Fashion Zombies!", which lampoons the emo subculture. Another major theme explored on the album, as on many of their other albums, is the pressure and awkwardness of adolescence. "Nerd Alert!" is an affirmation and rallying cry for nerds and outcasts, while "Hot Summer Nights (Won't Last Forever)!" is a ballad sung from the perspective of someone who doesn't realize that the girl he's dating never wants to speak to him again. Though the crew has thinned out since the band's last full length, the superhero and fantasy elements are still present. "Mechanical Ape!", "Stuck in a Movie!", and "Tiger Rider vs. the Time Sprinkler" are examples of the silly subjects the band has become known for. The album finishes with "Awesome Forces!" a superhero anthem reminiscent of "Super Rad" or "Theme Song" from The Fury...

Sonically, the band has lost nearly all of the horn sounds from earlier albums. Virtually all of the songs are backed by an electronic melody, and the album is overall the "rock-iest" one in their catalog. The album is still stylistically diverse, with "Waterslides!," showing The Aquabats' ska influence.

The album was released to a very positive reaction from fans. The first song, "Fashion Zombies!" had been released two months earlier for download on the band's website. Copies also appeared on file-trading networks about a month prior to the official release, much to the band's dismay. Some copies of the album were released without the promised trading cards. It is unclear whether this was a packaging error or whether the cards were only for certain markets.

[edit] Charge!! (Special One-Year Anniversary Edition)

In June 2006, a one-year anniversary edition of Charge!! was released. This CD/DVD re-release includes three previously unreleased tracks recorded during the Charge!! recording sessions. The bonus DVD features the "Fashion Zombies!" music video and "What About Charge?!?," a 45-minute documentary about the album, as well as other content. The album's new cover art was painted by artist Brandon Bird.